5 amazing things you can do with Google Assistant

How in the world did we manage to survive for a millennium without voice-activated virtual assistants? I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we drove around without being able to ask our phone for driving directions. Yet, now, the idea of not being able to do that is downright scary.

More recently, if we needed to find a fact, we typed in our search. Now that seems outdated. You typed into Google and thousands of answers popped up, almost instantly. If you wanted to read reviews for movies or restaurants, tap tap tap. Type your search and get answers.

But just a few years after iPhone's voice-activated Siri came onto the scene and spawned other voice-activated assistants like Microsoft's Cortana and Amazon's Alexa, everyday life without our virtual assistants seems, well, hard.

If you're an Android phone user, great news. There's a new way to get help. Google Assistant, the voice-activated assistant you may already be using on Google Home and other devices, has rolled out to hundreds of millions of Android phones.

It has been available on Google's Pixel phone. But now it has expanded to other Androids. Some systems require your phone to be running on the Android Marshmallow operating system or the upcoming Nougat operating system.

So, what's all the buzz about Assistant? Here are five things Google Assistant can do that'll make you love your Android even more. (Keep reading for a bonus tip you can do with Assistant!)

Note: To activate Google Assistant on your Android, hold down the home button and say, "OK Google."